Sloe Gin Update

My Sloe Gin Experiment

After a very cold morning on Thursday and having spotted an untapped sloe bush I decided to run a little experiment to see what the best sloe gin method is.

The first frost method

After the first frost last week, I decided to collect some sloes to see if this method makes better sloe gin.  Having picked sloes both before and after the first frost the main difference I have noticed so far is that the sloes are easier to pick.

You will need:

1.5 Lit Kilner Jar 

1 Lit of Sainsburys London Dry Gin

200g Unrefined Can Sugar

500g of Sloes picked after the first frost.

Several Bamboo Skewers

I chose the 1.5 Lit Kilner jar as it is the perfect container for 500g of sloes, 200g of sugar and 1 Lit of Gin.

Prick the sloes using the skewer, I make 4 holes on the top and bottom of each sloe, for 500g worth this can take around 1 hour 30 mins, place into the jar.  Then add the 200g of sugar and finally the gin.  Close the lid and shake.  

If you buy several litres of gin, you can use the empty bottle.  Using the same recipe as above but reduce the sloes to 250g, 125g of sugar and 1/2 lit of gin.

Shake the jar(s) every day for 2 weeks, then every other day for 2 weeks and reduce to once a week for 2 months, this will ensure the sugar quickly dissolves in the gin.

Sweet, Medium or Dry?

Using the above recipe per 500g of sloes and 1 litre of gin, use the following rule as a guide;

Dry 125 - 150g of sugar

Medium 200 - 225g of sugar

Sweet 250 - 325g of sugar